Definitions

Definitions in medicine are very exact and complete.  Definitions of a tagged item during an anatomy practical exam are often:  "posterior circumflex humoral nerve," "superficial branch of the radial nerve," or "ascending branch of the lateral circumflex femoral artery."  A change or omission in any of these key words would completely change the definition.  I was fortunate to learn these definitions from some of the oldest and well spoken anatomy professors in the history of modern medicine as well as Netter's Atlas of Anatomy which is considered by many to be the bible of anatomy images.

So, where do you get the definition of your words from?  From pop culture?  From your friends, your professors, your church?  How accurate are those definitions?

There is one word that for the past few years has disturbed me: love.

The dictionary's definition:  

(n).  A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness; A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair; The emotion of sex and romance; An intense emotional attachment, as for a pet or treasured object; A person who is the object of deep or intense affection or attraction; beloved. 

If love is ineffable then the only way to truly define love is to view its actions, not analyze the feelings.

God's definition:  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)  God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) 

"See how I love you.  There is my Son, see Him hanging on that cross, naked, mocked, and tortured--taking your sin.  Look, the sky is dark, I have forsaken My Son, He's crying out to Me but I'm turning My ear away so that you can come into My presence.  Come, I just tore that thick curtain in the temple down.  You can freely come to me.  Sinner, look at Love.  Look at pierced hands.  Look at pierced feet.  Look at a pierced side.  Look, the Creator of life has died. Come close, look at Love."

I want that definition because it's not shallow or esoteric.  It's real.

"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.  And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." (1 John 3:16)